Handlamp switch



Jan, 6. 1925.

1,522,244 F. L. HUMESTON -HANDLAMP SWITCH Filed Feb 9 1923 6 I A? A574 7 7 M I IN VEN TOR fieJen'c/i l film 6610/2 A TTORNE Y Patented Jan. 6, 1925.

it UNITED "STATES PATENT 'FR-EDE'RIGK' L. rwmnseonyon NEWLHAVEN; eomnemionmgrnss enon no:tint-lienEs- I TIER REPEATING ARMS COMPANY; or NEW H VEN-,2 ooimnerienryn' eokrorm;

' 'IION OF CONNECTICUT.

To, all whomz't may concern:

Beit known that I, FRnn'EnioK Hin s-s- TON, acit-izen oftheUnitedfst-ates, residing i1lL-,Q5 BIQWS tGI, Street New Haven in the county of NewHaven, State of; Connecticut, have invented certa nv new ancl-'usfef nl' I 1nprovements in Hancllamp Switches; and I do hereby cleclaresthe. following to be a fiill,

clear, and exact description ofthe invention,

; lamps. and it provides an improvedeleotric conductor connecting the lamp switch with av terminal of thelainp circuit. The inven: tion includes, as an important "part thereof, an insulating sheath for this conductor, the

. sheath being of an improved]construction and possessing features which render its use in conjunction with the'cOnIluQtQr Very valuable,"especiallywvhere the hand lamp is provided menmen casing." V o It is well known that a battery hand lan p havingametal' casingrniust he provided with an insulated conductoreXtenclingtro n the switch to one terminal ot' the lamp circuit, the insulation being required for the purpose of preventing the metal casing from "short circuit-ing the lamp switch. fhis invention, therefore, i-nc'lucle sa metal strip extending from the battery switch to the reflector of the lamp" or some other convenient terminal near the lainp bulb, and the 'circu itis closed in the usual manner by manually: connecting the movable element of the switehftothis metal strip, 1 p I f The conducting strip preferably of special construction, and particularly adapted to be enclosed by an insulating sheath of improved construction. .The insulating sheath, which may be of anyfsuitable insnlating material, .coversltwo sid 'es an'tl one' end of the {conducting strip and the sheath preferablyco nprises a single strip ofjniaterial, bent back on itself near the central'por'tio'n of the strip so that it for ns an envelopeiilto which the concliicting strip be inserted. The. conductor is constructed in such a manner that it serves ,to 'preve-iitflateral displacement of the insulating lsheat'hantl it also prevents thefree ends of the sheath from moving away from the conducting strip. The improved sheath" presents-- a' HANDL P T H-y slnootl' rounded edge to the battery when it is, be ngj n's'erted intothe hand lamp casing and thecontluctor is fixedto the: casing n sueha manner'that itis, electrically insulated from the casing at an pointsl' above; as well asjvarioiis others, ay be The featuresgof this invention niel'itio'iied better understood by referring to the fo'l'low- I detailed" description, which is to: be con; s elered 1n con tmeticn w th the accompany mg drawing, 1n'wh1'c11 Sh et hown in JFlgl 6j.1s" a plan "View ottli'e nnproved V ondin'c ona id Fig." condnetor shown 6'. p v Ipf'the drawing, showsla battery hand lanip sharingthejfilsilal casing 1,1 base capjQ, switehfi "and lens 4; The lens is held in.place in the tisnal'f nannerby means of a suitable thireakiecl retaining ring 5, adapted to n a t ie elrsh 'pediheaa '6fi hiclit' in turn "is cured "tothe oasing' liby screw threads shoivn at"7. fxThe lamp is e1 0 pir'o he, parts shown;

ngitud inalfsection off "the P15 :1. longitndinal section of t he V with" the" erd-inary reflectorfi "btilb v,

9; and 1 the casing is adapted "to receive 1, a

battery 10 'yiel clingly fhelcl in position nae pring-31 in thefba ec'apa 7 I I11"-' the1forn1 offhand Tainp chosenffor'the ru posepf at o e th amp o ffi fornis'fapart of the electric oircuit," en'cl, therefore, 'it'is insiflated from theretaining r e. 2J -iem ne i i ite lt g too d ring 'bei'iig interposed between the lensf i and 'mepnf'psrts clo e tothejeflg'e thereof. The 'o'asing -'"1*of the" lainp" is'fof metal? and "forms apart "dfthe "electrio' circuit; The

and head f at? editableg'rooved construction; is permanently fixed to 'tlie casing 1 and is provided with the usual push button 13, whichmay be actuated at will to close the electric circuit.

In the type of lamp shown in the drawing, the reflector 8 may be considered one terminal of theelectric circuit and the switch 3 the other terminal. In order that the electric circuit may be closed, an improved con ductor 14 is provided, the conductor extending between the switch 3 and the reflector 8. It is obvious that this conductor 14 must be insulated from the casing 1, otherwise the lamp circuit would be permanently closed through the casing 1. Accordingly, an improved insulating sheath 15 is provided for this purpose.

The conductor 14, which is illustrated in the drawing, particularly in Figs. 6 and 7, comprises a single strip of any suitable metal, preferably in sheet form. One end of the conductor is made narrower than the main portion thereof, and this end is turned up at substantially right angles to the main portion of the strip to form a contact point 16 adapted to be engaged by the movable element of the switch 3. The other end 17 of the strip 14 is preferably bent into a curved shape which serves as a spring contact adapted yieldingly to en age the reflector 8 of the lamp. A plura ity of holes 18 are punched in the body portion of the conductor 14 for the purpose of receiving .the rivets which serve to fix the conductor to the casing 1 of the lamp. These holes 18 are substantially larger than the rivets, as best shown in Fig. 2. Near the curved end of the conductor 14, a hook 19 is formed by cutting a tongue from the conductor and pressing this tongue downward substantially as shown in Figs. 6 and 7 Theimproved insulating sheath 15, one embodiment of which is shown in the drawing. particularly in Figs. 4 and '5, comprises a single strip of flexible insulating material bent back on itself as shown at 20. This sheath may be made of any suitable insulating composition, ordinary pasteboard, or heavy paper being quite satisfactory. This sheath is provided with a slot 21, through which the contact projection 16 of the conductor 14 may extend. The upper part of sheath is also provided with holes'22 corresponding with the holes 18 in the conductor. The holes 22 are substantially smaller in diameter than the holes 18, however, for a purposehereinafter described. The insulating sheath 15 is preferably wider than the conductor 14 so that it overhangs the edges of the conductor, as best shown in F 1g. 3, thus effectively insulating the edges of the conductor from the lamp casing 1. The end of the lower portion of the sheath 15 is provided wit-l1 a stepped notch indicated at 23. The distance between the portions 24, which form part of the notch 23, is

substantially equal to the width of the con= ductor 14 and permits the curved section 17 to pass between the portions 24 when the conductor and sheath are assembled.

The improved conductor and sheath may be assembled by spreading apart the upper and lower portions of the sheath l5 and inserting the conductor 14 between these portions until the projection 16 extends through the slot 21 in the sheath. The two parts of the sheath may then be closed to gether and the inner edge 25 of the notch 23 may be slipped between the hook 19 and the body portion of the conductor 14. This effectively prevents the lower portion of the sheath from moving away from the conductor 14. Ordinary insulating ma terials are subject to warping by virtue of the moisture absorbed thereby, and the hook 19 prevents the sheath 15 from moving away from the conductor 14 under any conditions. lVhen the conductor and sheath are as sembled the portion 17 projects downward between the projections 24 of the lower part of the sheath 15. The curved portion 11" and the hook 19 each, therefore, serves to prevent lateral displacement of the lower part of the sheath 15. 1

The conductor and the sheath may be assembled on the casing 1 by riveting the parts thereto, as best shown in Fig. 2 When the rivets are driven home, the conductor 14 is insulated therefrom by the depressed sections 27 of the lower part of the sheath 15. The rivets 26 draw the lower portion of the sheath 15 into the holes 18 of the conductor and against the upper portion of the sheath, and it will be noted that the lower head of each rivet is substantially flush with the lower face of the insulating sheath 15. In order to make certain that the insulating material enters the holes 18, formed in the conducting strip 14, the edge of each of the holes 22 in the insulating sheath may be cupped or pressed in before the sheath is applied to the conducting strip. The operation of riveting the parts together of course has a tendency to draw in the edge of each of these holes, so that in any event the ultimate shape of the insulating sheath at the points where it is fixed to the conducting strip is substantially as shown in Figure 2. Thus it is apparent that, eve-n if the rivets 26 work loose, the conductor 14 is prevented from coming into direct contact with the rivets 26, by the insulating material 27 interposed between these parts.

By again referring to Fig. 1 it should be clear that this invention. provides an improved insulated conductor interposed between the switch 3 and the reflector 8, the conductor being rigidly fixed tothe casing 1 in such a manner that it is effectively in sulated therefrom and free to warp or buckle without in any way impairing the insulation of theconductor or tearing the insulating sheath itself. Means is provided for preventing entirely any displacement of the ends of the insulating sheath. Furthermore, the end of the sheath nearest the base cap 2 presents a smooth rounded edge to the battery 10 when the latter is inserted into the casing 1; thus the battery or the insulating cover 28 thereon has no tendency to tear the insulating sheath 15 or to be torn by it.

It is to be understood that the size, proportions and arrangement of the various parts of this invention may be changed without departing from the spirit of the invention which is not confined to the particular embodiments shown and described,

but includes all modifications thereof that.

fall within the scope of the appended claims. For instance, the conductor 14 in the particular embodiment shown in the drawing, connects the switch 3 with the reflector 8, but it is of course apparent that this conductor may extend between the hand lamp switch and any suitable terminal of the electric circuit of the lamp.

I claim:

1. In a battery hand lamp, a sheet metal casing, a metal conducting strip extending between the hand lamp switch and a terminal of the electric circuit of the hand lamp, rivets for fixing said strip to said casing, and a single strip of insulating material interposed between said conducting strip and the casing and between said conducting strip and the rivets.

2. In a battery hand lamp having a metal casing, an electric conductor extending between the hand lamp switch and a terminal of the electric circuit of the hand lamp, a one piece insulating sheath enclosing said conductor, and means in contact with the casing for rigidly securing said conductor and sheath to the casing and means carried by said conductor for holding one end of the sheath near the conductor while permitting this end to be moved parallel to the conductor.

3. In a battery hand lamp, an electric conductor extending between the hand lamp switch and a terminal of the electric circuit of the hand lamp, an insulating sheath enclosing said conductor and comp-rising a single strip of insulating material bent back on itself to form a sheath having a closed end, and means carried by said conductor for-preventing lateral displacement of one end of said sheath.

4:. In a battery hand lamp, an electric conductor extending between the hand lamp switch and a terminal of the electric circuit of the hand lamp, and an insulating sheath enclosing said conductor and having a notch therein, said conductor having an integral hook engaging the notch in said sheath for preventing one end of the sheath from moving away from the conductor, while permitting movement of this end of the sheath parallel to the conductor.

5. In a battery hand lamp, an electric conductor extending between the hand lamp switch and a terminal of the electric circuit of the hand lamp, an insulating sheath for said conductor, means for fixing the sheath to the central portion of the conductor and means carried by said conductor for holding one end of the sheath near the conductor while permitting this end to be moved parallel to the conductor.

6. In a battery hand lamp, an insulating sheath for a conductor extending from the hand lamp switch to a terminal of the electric circuit of the hand lamp, said sheath comprising a single strip of insulating material bent back on itself to form an envelope for the conductor. and to present a smooth rounded edge to the hand lamp battery when it is inserted into the hand lamp casing.

7 In a battery hand lamp, an insulating sheath for a conductor extending from the hand lamp switch to a terminal of the electric circuit of the hand lamp, said sheath comprising a single strip of insulating material bent back on itself to form an envelope for the conductor, said sheath being provided with a slot for receiving an upturned end of the conductor and with a notched end adapted to be held by the conductor from lateral displacement with respect to the conductor.

In testimony whereof I aifix my signature.

FREDERICK L. HUMESTON. 

